Facing unprecedented low unemployment figures, manufacturers of all sizes are struggling to fill repetitive and undesirable manufacturing jobs. With the help of the Section 179 tax deduction, US businesses may be able to significantly stretch their use-it-or-lose-it 2022 budgets and purchase collaborative robots to take on the repetitive manufacturing tasks that workers don’t want. Section 179 requires that qualified equipment and off-the-shelf software is purchased and placed into service by December 31, 2022, but with its unique two-week ship program, Universal Robots (UR) can make that happen. 

The Tungsten Industry Conflict Minerals Council announced the release of an updated version of its Tungsten Framework document. The Tungsten Industry—Conflict Minerals Council (TI-CMC or “the Council”) is a framework through which its members can provide industry stakeholders, downstream tungsten consumers with conflict mineral reporting and disclosure obligations, and the public at large with their assurances that the tungsten products they supply are sourced in accordance with the relevant OECD Guidance, appropriate US laws such as Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council from May 17, 2017, and that the risks highlighted in this guidance are assessed and mitigated as appropriate.

GKN Powder Metallurgy, a provider of powder metal solutions, recently announced its commitment to enter the permanent magnets for the electric vehicle (EV) market, in response to the supply challenges the industry is facing.

AD announced it has completed the merger with Torbsa Limited, a leading building supplies buying group in Canada, effective July 1, 2022.

Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) has announced that Mark Joppru has joined the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) first mover and global market leader as the vice president of sales for the Americas. The former VP of ABB USA’s Consumer Segments and Service Robotics division started May 2, joining an organization that experienced a 42% increase in sales in 2021 over 2020 and 22% growth in the first quarter of 2022 alone.  

LogiMat, May 31 - June 2 in Stuttgart, Germany, provides attendees with a comprehensive review of all the main themes in the logistics sector, from procurement to production and deliveries.

Seegrid Corporation has received Frost & Sullivan’s prestigious Technology Innovation Leader Award for 2022. The global research and consulting firm recognized Seegrid for leading the North American AMR market for material handling with complete, connected automation solutions that drive operational resiliency for global leaders in logistics, e-commerce, and manufacturing.

The AD Bearings and Power Transmission division gathered for its annual North American Meeting on March 8-11, giving AD members and supplier partners a chance to celebrate a year of growth and new opportunities. 

TKO Miller recently announced the sale of Gearbox Express, LLC to RNWBL, LLC (RNWBL).

Elgeti Engineering has announced additional bearing technology sessions in April including two English sessions. These events take place from April 5 - 26, 2022.